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International Rescue Committee

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The International Rescue Committee ( IRC ) is a global humanitarian aid , relief, and development nongovernmental organization . Founded in 1933 as the International Relief Association, at the request of Albert Einstein , and changing its name in 1942 after amalgamating with the similar Emergency Rescue Committee , the IRC provides emergency aid and long-term assistance to refugees and those displaced by war, persecution, or natural disaster. The IRC is currently working in about 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities where it resettles refugees and helps them become self-sufficient. It focuses mainly on health, education, economic wellbeing, power, and safety.

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118-590: Consisting of first responders, humanitarian relief workers, international development experts, health care providers, and educators, the IRC has assisted millions of people around the world since its founding in 1933. In 2016, 26 million people in about 40 countries and 26 U.S. cities benefited from IRC programs. The current President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is David Miliband (2013–present), who previously served as

236-410: A big tent party of the centre-left. The SPD led the federal government from 1969 to 1982 (under Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt ), 1998 to 2005 (under Gerhard Schröder ) and again since 2021. It served as a junior partner to a CDU/CSU-led government from 1966 to 1969, 2005 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2021. During Scholz's chancellorship, the party has set out principles of a new German defence policy in

354-471: A class divide by creating demand for more educated people in order to maintain corporate and industrial profitability. Thus the popular demand for education, which in turn drives the cost of education higher through the principle of supply and demand , as people would want to be part of the new economic elite. Higher costs for education lead to a situation where only the people with enough money to pay for education can receive sufficient education to qualify for

472-597: A 1952 Soviet suggestion for Germans to form a neutral state was ignored by the CDU/CSU–FDP government. After 17 years in opposition, the SPD became the junior partner in a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU which lasted from 1966 to 1969. After the 1969 federal election , the SPD's Willy Brandt became chancellor in a coalition with the liberal Free Democratic Party. His government sought to normalise relations with East Germany and

590-679: A UK office. In 1999, the IRC launched emergency operations in East Timor . In 2000, the IRC launched emergency shelter, sanitation and education programs for Chechen refugees fleeing fighting between Russian forces and Ichkerian people. Following the September 11 attacks , the IRC undertook an advocacy campaign to reverse the U.S. government's slowdown in refugee resettlement. The IRC conducted operations across Iraq from April 2003 through December 2004. The organization resumed operations there in 2007 and launched expanded programs throughout

708-708: A body of 26 UN agencies that work on water issues, is responsible for the triennial UN World Water Development Report which monitors progress towards the Millennium Development Goals related to water. The World Water Assessment Programme, which produces the Report, has articulated how eight of the MDGs are linked to water resources. This is provision of access to quality healthcare to the population in an efficient and consistent manner and according to their needs. The standard and level of provision that

826-753: A field of practice and research that in various ways engages with international development processes. There are, however, many schools of thought and conventions regarding which are the exact features constituting the "development" of a country. Historically, development was largely synonymous with economic development, and especially its convenient but flawed quantification (see parable of the broken window ) through readily gathered (for developed countries) or estimated monetary proxies (estimated for severely undeveloped or isolationist countries) such as gross domestic product (GDP), often viewed alongside actuarial measures such as life expectancy . More recently, writers and practitioners have begun to discuss development in

944-585: A key role in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . On 9 November 1918, leading SPD member Friedrich Ebert was designated chancellor and fellow Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann , on his own authority, proclaimed Germany a republic . The government introduced a large number of reforms in the following months, introducing various civil liberties and labor rights . The SPD government, committed to parliamentary liberal democracy , used military force against more radical communist groups, leading to

1062-597: A less developed society. That is partially why institutions such as the Center for Global Development are searching for "pro-poor" economic policies. Modern poverty reduction and development programmes often have dignity as a central theme. Dignity is also a central theme of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the very first article of which starts with: The concept of dignity in development has been extensively explored by many, and related to all of

1180-405: A life without exploitation, suppression and violence, hence in social and human security", the realization of which is emphasized as a "permanent task". Social democracy serves as the "principle of our actions". The party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of democratic socialism, which it envisions as a societal arrangement in which freedom and social justice are paramount. According to

1298-713: A multi-country review of development progress, improved outcomes on these measures has generally been found to be driven by a combination of smart leadership, policies, institutions, and social networks, according to the Overseas Development Institute . Migration has throughout history also led to significant international development. As people move, their culture, knowledge, skills and technologies move with them. Migrants' ties with their past homes and communities lead to international relationships and further flows of goods, capital and knowledge. The value of remittances sent home by migrants in modern times

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1416-480: A periodic basis, possibly with a rural clinic serving several different communities. The provision of access to healthcare is both an engineering challenge as it requires infrastructure such as hospitals and transport systems and an education challenge as it requires qualified healthworkers and educated consumers. The fourth Millennium Development Goal is to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five . The fifth Millennium Development Goal

1534-679: A permanent split between the SPD and the USPD , as well as the Spartacist League which would go on to form the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and integrate a majority of USPD members as well. The SPD was the largest party during the first 13 years of the new Weimar Republic . It decisively won the 1919 federal election with 37.9 per cent of votes, and Ebert became the first president in February. The position of chancellor

1652-578: A region. More recently, the focus in this field has been projects that aim towards empowering women, building local economies, and caring for the environment. In context of human development it usually encompasses foreign aid , governance , healthcare , education , poverty reduction , gender equality , disaster preparedness , infrastructure , economics , human rights , environment and issues associated with these. During recent decades, development thinking has shifted from modernization and structural adjustment programs to poverty reduction . Under

1770-443: A significant step toward a greater integration into the covert network. The IRC distributed a confidential memorandum that it was prepared to take part in sensitive covert operations at the behest of the U.S. government. Only a select few within the committee would be told of these operations. From this point onward, the IRC would function on a two-pronged basis. There would be programs to assist refugees that would be transparent and, at

1888-477: Is a member of 11 of the 16 German state governments and is a leading partner in seven of them. The SPD was founded in 1875 from a merger of smaller socialist parties, and grew rapidly after the lifting of Germany's repressive Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 to become the largest socialist party in Western Europe until 1933. In 1891, it adopted its Marxist -influenced Erfurt Program , though in practice it

2006-406: Is acceptable or appropriate depends on many factors and is highly specific to country and location. For example, in a large city (whether in a 'developing' country or not), it is appropriate and often practical to provide a high standard hospital which can offer a full range of treatments; in a remote rural community it may be more appropriate and practical to provide a visiting healthworker on

2124-507: Is an engineering challenge, as well as a societal and political challenge as it includes education and behaviour change elements and is closely connected with shelter, politics and human rights. The seventh Millennium Development Goal was to ensure environmental sustainability , including reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and achieving significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020 . UN-Water ,

2242-457: Is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity . Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy , environment , and social well-being . The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make

2360-446: Is another important aspect of international development. It is a good example of how the focus today is on sustainable development in these countries; education gives people the skills required to keep themselves out of poverty. International development is related to the concept of international aid , but is distinct from, disaster relief and humanitarian aid . While these two forms of international support seek to alleviate some of

2478-404: Is concerned with ensuring that a development project or programme is of the correct scale and technical level, and is culturally and socially suitable for its beneficiaries. This should not be confused with ensuring something is low-technology, cheap or basic – a project is appropriate if it is acceptable to its recipients and owners, economically affordable and sustainable in the context in which it

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2596-431: Is executed. For example, in a rural sub-Saharan community it may not be appropriate to provide a chlorinated and pumped water system because it cannot be maintained or controlled adequately – simple hand pumps may be better; while in a big city in the same country it would be inappropriate to provide water with hand pumps, and the chlorinated system would be the correct response. The economist E. F. Schumacher championed

2714-573: Is much greater than the total in international aid given. International development and disaster relief are both often grouped into sectors, which correlate with the major themes of international development (and with the Millennium Development Goals – which are included in the descriptions below). There is no clearly defined list of sectors, but some of the more established and universally accepted sectors are further explored here. The sectors are highly interlinked, illustrating

2832-611: Is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together with Lars Klingbeil , who joined her in December 2021. After Olaf Scholz was elected chancellor in 2021, the SPD became the leading party of the federal government , which the SPD formed with the Greens and the Free Democratic Party , after the 2021 federal election . The SPD

2950-448: Is one which will be able to carry on indefinitely with no further international involvement or support, whether it be financial or otherwise. International development projects may consist of a single, transformative project to address a specific problem or a series of projects targeted at several aspects of society. Promoted projects are ones which involve problem solving that reflects the unique culture, politics, geography, and economy of

3068-580: Is the condition of lacking economic access to fundamental human needs such as food, shelter and safe drinking water. While some define poverty primarily in economic terms, others consider social and political arrangements also to be intrinsic – often manifested in a lack of dignity . There are a number of theories about how desirable change in society is best achieved. Such theories draw on a variety of social scientific disciplines and approaches, and include historical theories such as: International development institutions and international organisations such as

3186-437: Is the true measure of human development. The concept of participation is concerned with ensuring that the intended beneficiaries of development projects and programmes are themselves involved in the planning and execution of those projects and programmes. This is considered important as it empowers the recipients of development projects to influence and manage their own development – thereby removing any culture of dependency . It

3304-596: Is to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio . The sixth Millennium Development Goal is to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and to halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases . Reaching these goals is also a management challenge. Health services need to make the best use of limited resources while providing the same quality of care to every man, woman and child everywhere. Achieving this level of services requires innovation, quality improvement and expansion of public health services and programs. The main goal

3422-476: Is to make public health truly public. Examples of organizations working in health are: Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( German : Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands , [zoˈtsi̯aːldemoˌkʁaːtɪʃə paʁˌtaɪ ˈdɔʏtʃlants] , SPD , German pronunciation: [ɛspeːˈdeː] ) is a social democratic political party in Germany . It

3540-648: Is to serve the rights and interests of the 80% of the world's refugees who are women and children. The Women's Commission became the Women's Refugee Commission in 2009. After the first Gulf War , the IRC came to the aid of hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees who fled Saddam Hussein's regime. In 1992, the IRC began work in the former Yugoslavia , first dealing with the consequences of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and later launching community rehabilitation programs in Bosnia . IRC became headquartered in

3658-554: Is widely considered to be one of the most important concepts in modern development theory. The UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security describes participation as: one of the ends as well as one of the means of development Local participants in development projects are often products of oral communities . This has led to efforts to design project planning and organizational development methods, such as participatory rural appraisal , which are accessible to non-literate people. The concept of something being appropriate

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3776-574: The COVID-19 pandemic . After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the IRC provided support for Ukrainian refugees and civilians, both abroad and within Ukraine. The IRC provided mobile health teams and equipment capable of quickly deploying to crisis locations, supplied civilians with heating equipment such as gas stoves to keep homes warm during winter, and conducted many other efforts amid

3894-710: The Chanin Building in midtown Manhattan in 1994. In 1994, the IRC set up emergency programs in Tanzania and Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo ) to aid refugees fleeing genocide and civil war in Rwanda . IRC operations began inside Kosovo in 1997 and were expanded in 1999 to meet the needs of Kosovar refugees in Macedonia , Albania , Montenegro and Bosnia. Also in 1997, the IRC opened

4012-577: The Cold War . In the period immediately following the end of the Second World War, the IRC was one of several organizations aiding refugees from Eastern Europe. These refugees were screened to see if they had valuable information concerning the Soviet bloc countries. A select few were recruited to participate in covert operations being conducted by the intelligence community. In 1949, the IRC took

4130-695: The Communist Party of Germany (KPD). The SPD played a leading role in the German revolution of 1918–1919 and in the foundation of the Weimar Republic . The SPD politician Friedrich Ebert served as the first president of Germany from 1919 to 1925. After the rise of the Nazi Party to power, the SPD was the only party in the Reichstag which voted against the Enabling Act of 1933 ; the SPD

4248-669: The Eastern Bloc , a policy known as Ostpolitik . The party achieved its best ever result of 45.8 per cent in 1972 , one of only three occasions in which it formed the largest Bundestag faction. After Brandt's resignation in 1974, his successor Helmut Schmidt served as chancellor until 1982, when the SPD returned to opposition. During the Peaceful Revolution in East Germany, the East German SPD

4366-699: The Emergency Rescue Committee (ERC) to aid European refugees trapped in Vichy France . ERC founding member Varian Fry arrived in Marseilles within a few weeks of the fall of France , where he pulled together a small team that was instrumental in helping many individuals escape Vichy and the Nazis to safety in the U.S. and elsewhere. Over 2,000 political, cultural, union and academic leaders were rescued in just 13 months, ending when Fry

4484-575: The Millennium Development Goals (2000 to 2015) and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015 to 2030). The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) served a successful framework to guide international development efforts, having achieved progress on some of the 8 goals. For example, by 2015 the extreme poverty rate had already been cut into half. Other targets achieved include access to safe drinking water, malaria, and gender equality in schooling. Yet, some scholars have argued that

4602-707: The Nazi government while others fled the country. The party-in-exile was called Sopade . After the end of World War II , the re-establishment of the SPD was permitted in the Western occupation zones in 1945. In the Soviet occupation zone , the SPD was forcibly merged with the KPD in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The SED was the ruling party of East Germany until 1989. In West Germany ,

4720-768: The Progressive Alliance and was joined by numerous other parties around the world. Previously, the SPD was a founding member of both the Second International and the Labour and Socialist International . The Social Democratic Party has its origins in the General German Workers' Association , founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers' Party , founded in 1869. The two groups merged in 1875 to create

4838-583: The Reformed Protestant region of East Frisia directly to the north, with its strong traditional streak of anti-Catholicism , is one of their strongest constituencies. Further south, the SPD also enjoys solid support in northern Hesse , parts of Palatinate and the Saarland . The social democrats are weakest in the south-eastern states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia , where the party's percentage of votes dropped to single-digit figures in

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4956-519: The Reichstag , except for the one of 1919 which was called the National Assembly and since 1949 the parliament is called Bundestag . Note that changes in borders (1871, 1919, 1920, 1949, 1957 and 1990) varied the number of eligible voters whereas electoral laws also changed the ballot system (only constituencies until 1912, only party lists until 1949 and a mixed system thereafter), the suffrage (women vote since 1919; minimum active voting age

5074-587: The Second International 's agreement to oppose militarism, the SPD supported the German war effort and adopted a policy, known as Burgfriedenspolitik , of refraining from calling strikes or criticising the government. Internal opposition to the policy grew throughout the war. Anti-war members were expelled in 1916 and 1917, leading to the formation of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD). The SPD played

5192-605: The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany  [ de ] (German: Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands ). From 1878 to 1890, the Anti-Socialist Laws banned any group that aimed at spreading socialist principles, but the party still gained support in elections. In 1890, when the ban was lifted, the party adopted its current name. The SPD was the largest Marxist party in Europe and consistently

5310-766: The Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. For example, the Sustainable Development Goal 17 advocates for enhanced international support for capacity building in developing countries to support national plans to implement the 2030 Agenda .   Rights-based approach to development has been adopted by many nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations as the new approach to international development. Rights-based approach combines many different concepts of international development, such as capacity building , human rights , participation, and sustainability . The goal of

5428-750: The Zeitenwende speech . The SPD holds pro-European stances and is a member of the Party of European Socialists and sits with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament . With 14 MEPs , it is the third largest party in the group. The SPD was a founding member of the Socialist International , but the party left in 2013 after criticising its acceptance of parties they consider to be violating human rights. The SPD subsequently founded

5546-693: The civil war . Partnering with the Polish trade union movement Solidarity in 1987, the IRC began a health care program in Poland . Relief programs to assist Mozambican refugees in Malawi also began in 1987. Eight years later, the IRC was in Mozambique helping with their return. In 1989, the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children was established by the IRC as an affiliate organization whose purpose

5664-520: The political centre . After World War II , the SPD was re-formed in West Germany after being banned by the Nazi regime ; in East Germany , it merged with the Communist Party of Germany to form the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany . Under the chairmanship of Kurt Schumacher , the SPD was a socialist party representing the interests of the working class and of trade unions. With

5782-598: The "Grand Bargain" commitments. In July 2018, IRC was behind the Welcome Home initiative to give tours and activities for refugees in New York City and Northern California. In 2019, the IRC in San Diego began hosting a "Refugee Film Festival" that presents documentaries about the refugee experience. On March 13, 2020, the second annual IRC's Refugee Film Festival in San Diego was postponed until June due to

5900-460: The 1940s, IRC fed people during the Soviet blockade of West Berlin. In 1945, at the end of World War II , the IRC initiated emergency relief programs, established hospitals and children's centers, and started refugee resettlement efforts in Europe. With the descent of the Iron Curtain in 1946, the IRC initiated a resettlement program for East European refugees, which continued until the end of

6018-439: The 1959 Godesberg Program, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social democratic party working within democratic capitalism . The SPD's Hamburg Programme, adopted in 2007, describes democratic socialism as "the vision of a free and fair society in solidarity", which requires "a structure in economy, state and society guaranteeing civil, political, social and economic basic rights for all people living

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6136-502: The 1990s, the left and moderate wings of the party drifted apart, culminating in a secession of a significant number of party members which later joined the socialist party WASG , which later merged into The Left ( Die Linke ). Much of the SPD's current-day support comes from large cities, especially northern and western Germany and Berlin . As of 2019, 10 of the country's 15 biggest cities are led by SPD mayors. The metropolitan Ruhr Area , where coal mining and steel production were once

6254-453: The 2018 and 2019 elections. In 2021, it significantly increased its vote share in the states of the former east. The federal leader is supported by six Deputy Leaders and the party executive . As of 2021, the leaders are Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans . The previous leader was Andrea Nahles , who announced her pending resignation on 2 June 2019. As Germany is a federal republic , each of Germany's states have their own SPD party at

6372-723: The American Friends of Vietnam, and its successor, the Citizens Committee for Peace with Freedom in Vietnam. In 1960, an IRC resettlement program began for Cuban refugees fleeing the Castro dictatorship and for Haitian refugees escaping the Duvalier regime. IRC operations were extended to Africa in 1962 when 200,000 Angolans fled to Zaire . Also that year, the IRC began aiding Chinese fleeing to Hong Kong from

6490-642: The British foreign secretary . The International Rescue Committee (IRC) was founded as the New York branch of the International Relief Association (which later combined with another relief organization) in 1931, at the suggestion of Albert Einstein. As of 1933, the IRC was initially an organization that helped those who were fleeing Nazi Germany and as need arose it expanded its clientele. The International Relief Association (IRA)

6608-603: The CDU/CSU after the 2013 federal election . This arrangement was renewed after the 2017 federal election . SPD narrowly won against the CDU/CSU in the September 2021 federal election , becoming the biggest party in the federal parliament (Bundestag). Social Democrat Olaf Scholz became the new chancellor in December 2021, and formed a coalition government with the Green Party and the Free Democrats. The SPD

6726-604: The ICE's 2009–2010 president Paul Jowitt , are representative of a change of approach in the UK at least to start drawing together the huge capacity available to western governments, industry, academia and charity to develop such a partnership. International development also aims to improve general government policies of these developing countries. " State building " is the strengthening of regional institutions necessary to support long-term economic, social, and political development. Education

6844-513: The IRC aided around 15,000 women and girls through protection and empowerment programs in Jordan. In 2016 the IRC published the "Outcomes and Evidence Framework," an interactive tool that aims to create a framework for guiding humanitarian decision-making using theories of change and research evidence. The same year, they publicly committed to using this tool to ensure that all of their programs are evidence-based or evidence-generating by 2020 as part of

6962-407: The IRC has provided medical care, counseling and economic support services to about 40,000 women and girls who have survived sexual violence in Congo . The IRC is at the origin of a controversial estimate of the excess mortality in the DRC due to conflicts following the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. According to the IRC at first, the excess mortality was estimated at 3.8 million deaths. This estimate

7080-484: The IRC president and CEO in 2013. In 2015, according to IRC it trained 15,000 farmers, gave 440,000 babies measles vaccinations, job training to 27,000 people and resettled 10,000 refugees in the United States. In 2016, Fast Company said that IRC "might be the most under-recognized yet influential nongovernmental aid group in the world." In 2016, it had 11,000 people in it, and offices in around 40 countries. It had an annual operating budget of around $ 700 million. In 2016,

7198-449: The IRC started community rehabilitation activities in Afghanistan for tens of thousands of returning refugees. During the 1982 war in Lebanon , the IRC assisted Palestinian and Lebanese refugees. Spanish Refugee Aid, which served the survivors of the Spanish Civil War in France , became a division of the IRC in 1984. That same year, the IRC initiated health and community development projects in El Salvador for displaced victims of

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7316-440: The MDG agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created, with 169 indicators. UN resolution 70/1 adopted on September 25, 2015, was titled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", solidifying 17 new goals that had been in motion since 2014. The goals came into force in January 2016, focusing on areas of climate change, economic inequality, democracy, poverty, and peacebuilding. Although

7434-448: The MDGs lack the critical perspectives required to alleviate poverty and structures of inequality, reflected in the serious lags to achieving numerous other goals. As the MDG era came to an end, 2015 marked the year that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new agenda for development. Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon referred to this as a "defining moment in history" calling on states to "act in solidarity". Succeeding

7552-410: The Middle East, and the USA. International development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic or human development on an international scale. It is the basis for international classifications such as developed country , developing country and least developed country , and for

7670-438: The Nazi Sturmabteilung . The Nazis overtook the SPD as the largest party in July 1932 and Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933. Of the parties present in the Reichstag during the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933 , the SPD was the only one to vote against; most of the communist deputies had been arrested ahead of the vote. The SPD was banned in June. Many members were subsequently imprisoned and killed by

7788-463: The OECD, IMF and World Bank) The MDGs have catalysed a significant amount of action, including new initiatives such as Millennium Promise . Most of these initiatives however work in small scale interventions which do not reach the millions of people required by the MDGs. Recent praise has been that it will be impossible to meet the first seven goals without meeting the eighth by forming a Global Partnership for Development . No current organisation has

7906-429: The SDGs were built on the foundation of the MDGs, there are some key differences in both processes. Before adoption, unlike the MDGs, the SDGs had been in discussion for months, involving civil society actors, NGOs, as well as an opening summit involving intergovernmental negotiations. The new global development agenda places a greater emphasis on collective action, combining the efforts of multiple stakeholders to increase

8024-427: The SPD became one of two major parties, alongside the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) . In the inaugural 1949 federal election , it placed second with 29.2 per cent of votes and led the opposition to the CDU government. In its 1959 Godesberg Program , the party dropped its commitment to Marxism and sought to appeal to middle class voters, becoming a big tent party of the centre-left. Although strongly leftist ,

8142-400: The SPD initially opposed both the social market economy and Konrad Adenauer 's drive towards Western integration fiercely; after Schumacher's death, however, it accepted the social market economy and Germany's position in the Western alliance in order to appeal to a broader range of voters. It still remains associated with the economic causes of unionised employees and working class voters. In

8260-437: The SPD was willing to compromise. Only through its support did the governing CDU/CSU pass a denazification law that its coalition partner the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the far-right German Party voted against. At the same time, the SPD opposed the pro-West integration of West Germany because they believed that made a re-unification of Germany impossible. Austria could have become a sovereign neutral state in 1956, but

8378-662: The UN promote the realisation of the fact that economic practices such as rapid globalisation and certain aspects of international capitalism can lead to, and, allegedly, have led to an economic divide between countries, sometimes called the north–south divide. Such organisations often make it a goal and to help reduce these divides by encouraging co-operation amongst the Global South and other practices and policies that can accomplish this. International development can also cause inequality between richer and poorer factions of one nation's society. For example, when economic growth boosts development and industrialisation , it can create

8496-449: The better-paying jobs that mass-development brings about. This restricts poorer people to lesser-paying jobs but technological development makes some of these jobs obsolete (for example, by introducing electronic machines to take over a job, such as creating a series of machines such as lawn mowers to make people such as gardeners obsolete). This leads to a situation where poorer people cannot improve their lives as easily as they could have in

8614-878: The border. Since its opening in 2005, by 2012 the Resettlement Support Center (formerly known as the Overseas Processing Entity) in the Thai capital Bangkok had helped 90,000 people seek admission to the United States as refugees. The Resettlement Support Center primarily assists refugees in Thailand but also assists asylum seekers in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia. The activities of

8732-471: The capacity of local organizations, and supporting civil society and good-governance initiatives. For refugees afforded sanctuary in the United States, IRC resettlement offices across the country provide a range of assistance aimed at helping new arrivals settling, adjusting and acquiring the skills to become self-sufficient. The IRC operates in over 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America,

8850-408: The capacity to dissolve the enormous problems of the developing world alone – especially in cities, where an increasing number of poor people live – as demonstrated by the almost nonexistent progress on the goal of improving the lives of at least 100 Million slum dwellers. The Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Without Frontiers panel and its recommendations, and the 2007 Brunel Lecture by

8968-435: The cause of appropriate technology and founded the organization ITDG (Intermediate Technology Design Group), which develops and provides appropriate technologies for development (ITDG has now been renamed Practical Action ). The concept of right-financing has been developed to reflect the need for public and private financial support systems that foster and enable development, rather than hinder it. Sustainable development

9086-628: The center are funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. The IRC worked closely with local aid organizations to respond to various disasters, including in Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake; and in Indonesia after the South Asian tsunami; and in Myanmar after the 2008 cyclone. In 2008, the IRC released the fifth in a series of surveys demonstrating

9204-501: The classical social democrats continue to defend classical left-wing policies and the welfare state. The Keynesian left-wing of the SPD claims that in recent years the welfare state has been curtailed through reform programs such as the Agenda 2010, Hartz IV , and the more economic liberal stance of the SPD which were endorsed by centrist social democrats. In reaction to Agenda 2010, an inner-party dissident movement developed, leading to

9322-442: The complexity of the problems they seek to deal with. In development, this is the provision of water and sanitation ( toilets , bathing facilities, a healthy environment) of sufficient quantity and quality to supply an acceptable standard of living . This is different from a relief response, where it is the provision of water and sanitation in sufficient quantity and quality to maintain life. The provision of water and sanitation

9440-451: The concept of human rights. The first seven Millennium Development Goals present measurable goals, while the eighth lists a number of 'stepping stone' goals – ways in which progress towards the first seven goals could be made. Each goal uses indicators based on statistical series collected and maintained by respected organisations in each relevant field (usually the UN agency responsible but also

9558-414: The concept of sustainable development better known. Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy".  The terms capacity building and capacity development have often been used interchangeably, although a publication by OECD-DAC stated in 2006 that capacity development

9676-655: The country. In addition to aiding displaced Iraqis within the country, the IRC also provided assistance to Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria , as well as to those granted refuge in the United States. In 2003, IRC programs in West Africa expanded to serve the growing populations of refugees and displaced persons uprooted by civil conflict. In 2005, around two decades after Burmese refugees first began crossing into Thailand, poverty and violent conflict in Myanmar's ethnic minority areas continue to drive people into camps along

9794-627: The development sectors. For example, in Development with Dignity Amit Bhaduri argues that full employment with dignity for all is both important and possible in India, while the UN Millennium Project's task force on Water and Sanitation links the sector directly to dignity in the report Health, Dignity and Development: What will it take? . The Asian Human Rights Commission released a statement in 2006 claiming that: Human dignity

9912-571: The different sectors above. Some of them are: An interesting way of seeing development is through modernization. This includes electronification of households and increases in phone plans. This does not accurately convey social development although it is hard to precisely measure, and institutions differ greatly in their methods. This goes into the debate on whether economic growth causes social growth or vice versa. Indicators of social change can be used to complement economic factors as indicators of development and in formulating development policies. In

10030-745: The excess loss of life in the Democratic Republic of Congo caused by the nation's long-running civil war. The fifth survey put the excess-death toll between August 1998 and April 2007 at 5.4 million. The IRC affiliate Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children became the Women's Refugee Commission in 2009. Following the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, the IRC deployed its Emergency Response Team to Haiti to deliver help to Port-au-Prince . IRC experts in emergency health, shelter and children's welfare worked with local aid groups to assist survivors. David Miliband , former British Foreign Secretary , became

10148-561: The first time that a holistic strategy to meet the development needs of the world has been established, with measurable targets and defined indicators. Because the MDGs were agreed as global targets to be achieved by the global community, they are independent of, but by no means unrelated to, individual national interests. The goals imply that every state has a set of obligations to the world community to meet and that other states, who have achieved those goals, have an obligation to help those who have not. As such they may represent an extension of

10266-485: The former system, poor countries were encouraged to undergo social and economical structural transformations as part of their development, creating industrialization and intentional industrial policy. Poverty reduction rejects this notion, consisting instead of direct budget support for social welfare programs that create macroeconomic stability leading to an increase in economic growth. The concept of poverty can apply to different circumstances depending on context. Poverty

10384-718: The foundation of the new party Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative ( Arbeit & soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative , WASG) in 2005, which later merged into The Left ( Die Linke ) in 2007. The Parlamentarische Linke comprises left-wing SPD Members of the German Bundestag . Prior to World War II, as the main non-revolutionary left-wing party, the Social Democrats fared best among non- Catholic workers as well as intellectuals favouring social progressive causes and increased economic equality. Led by Kurt Schumacher after World War II,

10502-491: The large-scale humanitarian crisis. As of 2024, these efforts are still ongoing. After a report published in December 2023 the IRC has warned that humanitarian crises will worsen in 2024 due to several key factors, including climate change, worsening armed conflicts, and less international support. Africa is expected to be the region most adversely effected. The IRC is now at work in about 40 countries and in 26 U.S. cities. In 2010, notable operations included disaster response in

10620-488: The lives of 5.4 million people since 1998, according to peer-reviewed studies by the IRC. The organization runs programs dedicated to health, education, civil society development, emergency response and reducing gender-based violence, in seven Congolese provinces. As rape and other forms of sexual violence have increasingly been used as a tactic of war by militias involved in the conflict, the IRC has stepped up its sexual violence aid and protection programs. Between 2002 and 2018,

10738-471: The main industries, have provided a significant base for the SPD in the 20th century. In the city of Bremen , the SPD has continuously governed since 1949. In southern Germany, the SPD typically garners less support except in the largest cities. At the 2009 federal election , the party lost its only constituency in the entire state of Bavaria (in Munich ). Small town and rural support comes especially from

10856-522: The mainland. The IRC was active worldwide, providing support for refugees fleeing conflict and oppression in India , Chile , Paraguay , Uruguay , Guatemala , Cambodia , Laos , Vietnam , Uganda and the Soviet Union , while resettling refugees in the United States. At the turn of the decade, the IRC launched emergency relief programs for Afghan refugees fleeing to Pakistan . Eight years later,

10974-449: The more holistic and multi-disciplinary sense of human development. Other related concepts are, for instance, competitiveness , quality of life or subjective well-being . "International development" is different from the simple concept of "development". Whereas the latter, at its most basic, denotes simply the idea of change through time, international development has come to refer to a distinct field of practice, industry, and research;

11092-441: The most popular party in German federal elections from 1890 onward, although it was surpassed by other parties in terms of seats won in the Reichstag due to the electoral system. In the years leading up to World War I , the SPD remained radical in principle, but moderate in reality. According to Roger Eatwell and Anthony Wright, the SPD became a party of reform, with social democracy representing "a party that strives after

11210-613: The party platform, political freedom , justice and social solidarity form the basis of social democracy. The SPD is mostly composed of members belonging to either of the two main wings, namely the Keynesian social democrats and Third Way moderate social democrats belonging to the Seeheimer Kreis . While the more moderate Seeheimer Kreis generally support the Agenda 2010 programs introduced by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ,

11328-402: The problems associated with a lack of development, they are most often short term fixes – they are not necessarily long-term solutions. International development, on the other hand, seeks to implement long-term solutions to problems by helping developing countries create the necessary capacity needed to provide such sustainable solutions to their problems. A truly sustainable development project

11446-507: The rights-based approach to development is to empower the rights-holders, or the group that does not exercise full rights, and strengthen the capacity of the duty-bearers, or the institution or government obligated to fill these rights. The judging of how developed a country or a community is highly subjective, often highly controversial, and very important in judging what further development is necessary or desirable. There are many different measures of human development, many of them related to

11564-567: The same time, there would be parallel operations known to only a few. In 1950, the IRC intensified its aid in Europe with Project Berlin, which provided food to the people of East Berlin amid increased Soviet oppression. After the war, the committee's European representatives focused on rebuilding the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) as a bulwark against the Communists. Leo Cherne , an IRC board member since 1946,

11682-464: The socialist transformation of society by the means of democratic and economic reforms". They emphasise this development as central to understanding 20th-century social democracy, of which the SPD was a major influence. In the 1912 federal election , the SPD won 34.8 per cent of votes and became the largest party in the Reichstag with 110 seats, although it was still excluded from government. Despite

11800-399: The state level. From August until October 2010, senior Bundestag member Joachim Poß served as interim Bundestag leader in the absence of Frank-Walter Steinmeier , who was recovering from donating a kidney to his wife. The SPD, at times called SAPD, took part in general elections determining the composition of parliament. For elections up until 1933, the parliament was called

11918-480: The subject of university courses and professional categorisations. It remains closely related to the set of institutions—especially the Bretton Woods Institutions —that arose after the Second World War with a focus on economic growth, alleviating poverty, and improving living conditions in previously colonised countries. The international community has codified development aims in, for instance,

12036-505: The sustainability of the goals. This emphasis on sustainability has also led to more cross-sector partnerships, and combined international efforts across areas of environmental, social, cultural, political, and economic development. In 2000, United Nations signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration , which includes eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015. This represented

12154-408: The traditionally Protestant areas of northern Germany and Brandenburg (with previous exceptions such as Western Pomerania where CDU leader Angela Merkel held her constituency, which the SPD gained in 2021) and a number of university towns. A striking example of the general pattern is the traditionally Catholic Emsland , where the Social Democrats generally gain a low percentage of votes, whereas

12272-609: The wake of the earthquake in Haiti , ongoing programs to address the humanitarian crisis in Congo and to help community rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan , and advocacy and resettlement efforts on behalf of Iraqis uprooted by the war. The organization was involved in responding to a massacre in Bani Walid, Libya , where near a hundred young men attempting to escape a militia were gunned down. On August 5, 2018, it

12390-613: Was Jay Lovestone , the erstwhile head of the American Communist Party. It was Lovestone who formed an American section of the International Relief Association in 1933. Among those who joined him was Albert Einstein . Its purpose was to assist Germans suffering under Adolf Hitler's government – particularly supporters of the "right opposition". Later, refugees from Mussolini's Italy and Franco's Spain were assisted. In 1940, European exiles and American liberals close to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt , founded

12508-601: Was challenged by a group of Belgian demographers sent to the DRC by a European institution to help draw up electoral lists for the DRC. For cross-checking purposes, they made a study of the excess mortality in the DRC over the period 1998-2004 which came to 183,000 deaths, twenty times less. The IRC delivers a number of services, including emergency response, health care, programs fighting gender-based violence, post-conflict development projects, children and youth protection and education programs, water and sanitation systems, strengthening

12626-603: Was elected IRC Chairman in 1951. He would hold the position for 40 years. Also in the 1950s, the IRC began relief and resettlement programs for refugees displaced by the North Vietnamese defeat of the French and by the Soviet forces’ crushing of the Hungarian revolution . According to historian Eric Thomas Chester, the IRC was instrumental in the establishment of two key Washington lobby groups supporting South Vietnam,

12744-545: Was established as a Marxist party in 1875. It underwent a major shift in policies, reflected in the differences between the Heidelberg Program of 1925 which called for "the transformation of the capitalist system of private ownership of the means of production to social ownership" and the Godesberg Program of 1959 which aimed to broaden the party's voter base and to move its political position toward

12862-615: Was expelled by the Vichy French. Fry also worked closely with British intelligence, helping to establish escape routes for British servicemen. Fry also took a map showing the distribution of mines in the Mediterranean that he received from a refugee and gave it to an agent of British intelligence. In 1942, after the US entered the Second World War, IRA and ERC joined forces under the name International Relief and Rescue Committee, which

12980-621: Was founded in 1931 in Germany by two left-wing factions, the Communist Party Opposition (KPO) and the Socialist Workers Party (SAP). Its purpose was to aid victims of state oppression and persecution. After the Nazis took power in 1933, the organization moved its headquarters to Paris. The KPO consisted of the "right opposition" – communists who had been purged by Stalin in 1929 because of their support for Nikolai Bukharin . Among those purged

13098-457: Was held by Social Democrats until the 1920 federal election , when the SPD lost a substantial portion of its support, falling to 22 per cent of votes. After this, the SPD yielded the chancellery to other parties, although it remained part of the government until 1924. Ebert died in 1925 and was succeeded by conservative Paul von Hindenburg . After making gains in the 1928 federal election , the SPD's Hermann Müller became chancellor. As Germany

13216-558: Was later shortened to the International Rescue Committee. The organization was financed largely by the National War Fund . According to historian Eric Thomas Chester , by the 1950s the IRC had evolved into a global operation functioning as an integral link in the CIA's covert network, became deeply involved in the volatile confrontations between the two superpowers, and participated in an array of sensitive clandestine operations. In

13334-470: Was moderate and focused on building working-class organizations. In the 1912 federal election , the SPD won 34.8 percent of votes and became the largest party in the Reichstag , but was still excluded from government. After the start of the First World War in 1914, the party split between a pro-war mainstream and the anti-war Independent Social Democratic Party , some members of which later formed

13452-505: Was refounded. It merged with the West German party in 1990, shortly before German reunification . The SPD returned to government under Gerhard Schröder after the 1998 federal election in a coalition with The Greens . This government was re-elected in 2002 but defeated in 2005 . The SPD then became junior partner of a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU until 2009 . After a term in opposition, they again served as junior partner to

13570-475: Was reported that the agency had lowered its staff number in Georgia after refugee arrivals decreased. As of Jul 2024, the agency is operating in around 30-40 countries, primarily in the middle east and developing counties, providing humanitarian aid and necessities to those countries. The IRC is one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance in the DRC, where conflict and humanitarian crisis have taken

13688-485: Was struck hard by the Great Depression , and unable to negotiate an effective response to the crisis, Müller resigned in 1930. The SPD was sidelined as the Nazi Party gained popularity and conservatives dominated the government, assisted by Hindenburg's frequent use of emergency powers . The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold , the SPD's paramilitary wing, was frequently involved in violent confrontations with

13806-588: Was subsequently banned, and operated in exile as the Sopade . After the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, the SPD was re-established. In East Germany , it merged with the KPD under duress to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany . In West Germany , the SPD became one of two major parties alongside the CDU/CSU . In its Godesberg Program of 1959, the SPD dropped its commitment to Marxism, becoming

13924-475: Was the preferable term. Since the 1950s, international organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities use the concept of capacity building as part of " social and economic development " in national and subnational plans. The United Nations Development Programme defines itself by "capacity development" in the sense of "'how UNDP works" to fulfill its mission. The UN system applies it in almost every sector, including several of

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